brands of calcium powder & gular edema

[MoyaChan]

Hi!

I've been thinking about changing my supplements. My veiled cham has gular edema and as far as I know, it can be due to something lacking.
(I dust with calcium every feeding, and multivitamin+d3 (zoomed) every two weeks - it's together so I can't alternate them as a lot of you do...)

I've been advised the Repashy Calcium Plus. As I understood, it contains all three important things, and should be used with every feeding.

I'd like to ask what you all use, how, and what you recommend.

Also if anyone has ever succeeded in treating gular edema, your advice are very welcome!

Thank you, and have a nice day!

 

[Andee]

I have successfully treated gular edema in my Jackson female, she gets it when she gets dehydrated (she seems easily prone to getting it) and she gets it from vitamin over supplementation. I treat it by hydrating a LOT, like taking them into a shower once a day every day until it's gone. From what I understand with gular edema it's usually caused from over supplementation.

 

[MoyaChan]

I have successfully treated gular edema in my Jackson female, she gets it when she gets dehydrated (she seems easily prone to getting it) and she gets it from vitamin over supplementation. I treat it by hydrating a LOT, like taking them into a shower once a day every day until it's gone. From what I understand with gular edema it's usually caused from over supplementation.

Thanks for your reply!
Actually I have skipped some supplementing a few months back, bc this is exactly what the vet said, but it didn't go away.
And the other thing is, she doesn't really want to drink. This is a new thing, much only maybe a week or two, so it's not really connected to the edema, but surely makes it harder to get her hydrated. She looks great otherwise, no sunken eyes, bright colors, only the not drinking and the edema. I really have no idea what to do with it, she's had it since her surgery (she was eggbound).
Also, some days it's better, some days it looks like proper mane, so I'm totally lost...
Do you have any suggestions?

Oh and shower is not an option, she hates it like crazy...

 

[Andee]

I would definitely put her in a shower, showers kind of make them drink, 15-30 minute showers stimulate them to start drinking. Put her in a plant and put her in a just above luke warm shower. Bounce the shower off the wall next to her. She should drink part way through. It'll help flush her system. While your doing this I would skip supplementing for a couple weeks, see if that and the showering helps. You don't have to worry so much about the plain calcium as much as you do about the vitamins and D3. Make sure you have lights on while she's in the shower or else she might fall asleep during it. I've had my jackson do it because there wasn't enough light. Do you have any pictures of her?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I don't supplement with anything that contains D3. Straight Vitamin A from the pharmacy doesn't cause a problem. Calcium doesn't seem to cause a problem.

I also find it is often the crickets that are the cause. Some shipments of crickets can give my susceptible quads edema. The smaller the crickets, the less problems I have. It doesn't matter how long I feed the crickets good whole food--I won't even feed them a good gutload anymore, fearing edemas--some shipments of crickets just cause edemas. I hold my crickets a week before I start feeding them.

 

[alphakenc]

I would hand mist more often with lukewarm water whenever u can,try mist around her,sometimes the cham wont drink in front of u,as soon u leave,they be licking the water drops.
Personally I like to feed my cham with the dubia roaches,much cleaner staple diet than the cricket,and the best part is they dont chirp n bite on ur cham.
Regarding the supplement the key word is "lightly dust" its more effective on the feeders insect in daily routine n once a while u can switch the brand just to compare by observing ur cham's health n activity.

 

[Andee]

I don't supplement much with d3 or vitamins anymore, I do it about once a month for my panther and once every other month for my Jackson, instead I just raise my bugs on really good food all the time that have vitamins added to their food that I make that instead make my bugs healthier to eat so there is less of a need to supplement.

 

[MoyaChan]

I would definitely put her in a shower, showers kind of make them drink, 15-30 minute showers stimulate them to start drinking. Put her in a plant and put her in a just above luke warm shower. Bounce the shower off the wall next to her. She should drink part way through. It'll help flush her system. While your doing this I would skip supplementing for a couple weeks, see if that and the showering helps. You don't have to worry so much about the plain calcium as much as you do about the vitamins and D3. Make sure you have lights on while she's in the shower or else she might fall asleep during it. I've had my jackson do it because there wasn't enough light. Do you have any pictures of her?

Okay thanks, I'll try the shower again, but she doesn't stand still, always crawls away...
I'll take a pic when I get home

 

[MoyaChan]

I don't supplement with anything that contains D3. Straight Vitamin A from the pharmacy doesn't cause a problem. Calcium doesn't seem to cause a problem.

I also find it is often the crickets that are the cause. Some shipments of crickets can give my susceptible quads edema. The smaller the crickets, the less problems I have. It doesn't matter how long I feed the crickets good whole food--I won't even feed them a good gutload anymore, fearing edemas--some shipments of crickets just cause edemas. I hold my crickets a week before I start feeding them.

I'm starting up my own colony, but they grow so slowly!! I hope that by the end of the summer I'll have big enough crickets, until then I have to buy them...

I gutload mostly with carrots, apple and dandelion leaves. Do you think it's enough and I shouldn't supplement? Or maybe every one or two months?

Thanks for your help!

 

[MoyaChan]

Unf

I would hand mist more often with lukewarm water whenever u can,try mist around her,sometimes the cham wont drink in front of u,as soon u leave,they be licking the water drops.
Personally I like to feed my cham with the dubia roaches,much cleaner staple diet than the cricket,and the best part is they dont chirp n bite on ur cham.
Regarding the supplement the key word is "lightly dust" its more effective on the feeders insect in daily routine n once a while u can switch the brand just to compare by observing ur cham's health n activity.

Thanks for your reply!

Unfortunately my mom doesn't let me keep roaches so I give her gutloaded crickets and locusts. Occasionally a waxworm...

I don't have an automatic mister so I hand mist. I try to do for as long as I can, then let the enclosure dry out. I also have a dripper. I try to get water on her while misting but she runs off, if it's simple water or if it's a little warmer, she just hates it...
I usually try to get some water in her with a syringe, by putting water droplets on her nose... Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...
It's really frustrating that I don't know what it depends on if she decides to drink or not...

 

[MoyaChan]

I don't supplement much with d3 or vitamins anymore, I do it about once a month for my panther and once every other month for my Jackson, instead I just raise my bugs on really good food all the time that have vitamins added to their food that I make that instead make my bugs healthier to eat so there is less of a need to supplement.

So do you think it's okay if I gutload with apple, carrots and dandelion leaves? Should I put the multivitamin on the crickets' /locusts' food?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'm starting up my own colony, but they grow so slowly!! I hope that by the end of the summer I'll have big enough crickets, until then I have to buy them...

I gutload mostly with carrots, apple and dandelion leaves. Do you think it's enough and I shouldn't supplement? Or maybe every one or two months?

Thanks for your help!

Try raising Dubia roaches. You'll have less problems breeding them and they don't smell. I also have a colony of stick bugs and always try to have a lot of silk worms on hand.

 

[alphakenc]

If u have this cham for a while,Im pretty sure she is drinking without ur presence,you can always check for her urate color and determine if she is dehydrated,I will hand mist everywhere and not on her since she is running away.

 

[Andee]

Since you can't raise dubia, or any type of roaches, I would still gutload you crickets with a homemade gutload or a gutload sold on the forums. Sandrachameleon's blog has great information when it comes to making your own dry gutload.

 

[MoyaChan]

Try raising Dubia roaches. You'll have less problems breeding them and they don't smell. I also have a colony of stick bugs and always try to have a lot of silk worms on hand.

Thanks for the advice! Dubias are off the topic (I live at home and my mom is not so much of a fan of bugs...), but I'll definitely try to get my hands on some silk worms. They are very rarely available though, everyone wants to keep them for themselves, or so it seems.
What do you think about locusts?

 

[MoyaChan]

Since you can't raise dubia, or any type of roaches, I would still gutload you crickets with a homemade gutload or a gutload sold on the forums. Sandrachameleon's blog has great information when it comes to making your own dry gutload.

Thank you, I'll check it!

 

[MoyaChan]

If u have this cham for a while,Im pretty sure she is drinking without ur presence,you can always check for her urate color and determine if she is dehydrated,I will hand mist everywhere and not on her since she is running away.

I'm waiting on that poop to happen so I can finally see how it is. The last one was good though, so I hope this will be too...
Thanks again!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Actually I have skipped some supplementing a few months back, bc this is exactly what the vet said, but it didn't go away.

It can take 6 months or more to resolve. I suspect many edema cases are due to oversupplementation of vitamin A, which is fat soluble so stored in the liver and other organs. It takes quite a long time for that to be used up.

In veiled females they can get edema when gravid. Are you sure she's not gravid?

 

[Andee]

Thanks for the advice! Dubias are off the topic (I live at home and my mom is not so much of a fan of bugs...), but I'll definitely try to get my hands on some silk worms. They are very rarely available though, everyone wants to keep them for themselves, or so it seems.
What do you think about locusts?

Coastal Silkworms has some small silkworms that are already hatched, that should be in stock right now. If you don't have any mulberry trees nearby then buy some chow.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks for the advice! Dubias are off the topic (I live at home and my mom is not so much of a fan of bugs...), but I'll definitely try to get my hands on some silk worms. They are very rarely available though, everyone wants to keep them for themselves, or so it seems.
What do you think about locusts?

I hatch my silkworm eggs. I buy the eggs from Coastal Silkworms.